Car construction



April 18, 1939. 1,A B D THOMPSON y 2,154,645 I.

CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 30, 1936 IIIIIIIIIII John Thompson l I INVENTQR I ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFRE CAR CONSTRUCTION Application September 30, 1936, Serial No. 103,249

14 Claims.

This invention relates to car construction in general and in particular to passenger car construction.

In previous passenger car construction the un- ,5 derframe was relied upon as the sole strength member with the superstructure formed by a lot of connected parts forming a shell inclosing the passenger space. This shell was designed to resist lateral thrusts but was not relied upon as a `1() strength member of the car. It is an object, therefore, of this invention to simplify the car construction by eliminating a plurality of the unnecessary roof parts and substitute a single structurally strong member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined deck plate, clerestory side, and carline support.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strong roof side member which will permit the ,2 elimination of unsightly eaves and water tables.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved roof member of great strength which will effectively carry the stresses between the car end posts.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross section through the upper 30 portion of a passenger car constructed with the improved roof member;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of a car roof using the improved roof member of Fig. l, and

"Fig, 3 is a cross section similar to Fig. l but .35 showing a modification thereof.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it is seen that the car is of the monitor roof type having side plates 2 to which are fastened lower carlines 4, carrying the center roof carlins 6. The

40 lower carlines of general U section have a curved portion 8 supporting the lower deck sheets I 0 and a vertically extending portion l2 to which is attached the improved roof member A and the clerestory lining B.

45 The improved roof member shown in Figs. l

and 2 consists of a lower outwardly directed flange I4 lapping and supporting the lower deck roof sheets, a vertically extending web IS forming the clerestory sides, and an inwardly directed portion I8 conforming to the roof slope which portion is bent downwardly as at 20 and then anged inwardly as at 22 to form a support for the center roof carlines. Forming the member in this shape eliminates a major portion of the joints heretofore used and gives an extremely (Cl. S-5.1)

strong beam having a lower flange or chord and a very strong top chord which takes the place of the upper deck plate. This top chord or upper deck plate is exceedingly strong since it caps the upper ends of the lower `carlines and being rigidly secured thereto the sides cannot spread and it becomes substantially a channel member. It is to be understood that these improved roof members extend from end post to end post as is usual and thus form parallel beams which will aid materially in the carrying of the car loads permitting a decrease in underframe strength.

The center roof carlines ii are oi general Z section having one flange 23 resting upon and se cured to the roof member flange 22 by means 24 while 'the web of the carline is bent to form a liange 2% by means or which it is secured to the roof member and lower carlines through rivets Zt which irmly bind the 'three elements together. The upper flange 35i of the carline provides a supporting and attaching means for the center roof sheet 32, the side edges of which are secured to the portion I8 of the roor^ member by means of rivets 34.

The supporting ange 22 not only supports the center roof carlines but provides an ideal support for the attachment of the ceiling panels 36 and the upper edges of the clerestory side finish 38 together with the molding securing strip 4G. lThe molding d2 is held in place by this strip and it is only necessary to provide supporting means 1M at spaced points such as at the lower carlines. The lower edges of the clerestory side finish are secured to the upper flange t5 of the inner deck sill which is of angle formation and firmly secured to the lower carlines. The outwardly directed flange @8 of this deck sill provides a support for one edge of the lower deck nish 5d as well as the corner binding 52.

In order that the car may be ventilated or air conditioned, if desired, openings 54 are cut in the web l to which a ventilator or other means $6 may be secured by means 57 surrounding the opening. Z or other section members 5t are secured to the web adjacent the openings and provide a closed frame or box permitting passage of air to and from the interior of the car. These members have' their flanges 6&3 directed toward each other and support the ventilator grating 62.

The modification shown in Fig. 3 is somewhat similar to that just described and wherever possible the same reference characters have been used. In this instance the center carline 6 has. the lower iiange 64 secured to the top of the lower carline, while the web flange 66 is secured to the side member by means of rivets 68. The side member is of angle form having one long flange or leg 10 forming the clerestory side lapped and secured to an upwardly `directed fiange 12 of the lower deck sheet I0, while the short flange 14 is directed inwardly for attachment to the upper flange 16 of the center roof carline and to the center roof sheet.

To further tie the lower and upper carlines together the strip 18 is provided having one leg 8i) attached to the lower iiange of the center carline, while the other leg 82 is attached to the upstanding portion of the lower carline. These legs of the strip provide attaching means for the ceiling and clerestory finish 36 and 38 respectively, while the web portion 84 which joins the legs forms an admirable means to which the corner molding 86 may be secured.

In this latter construction it is seen that an extremely simple structure is used in which a number of unnecesary joints are eliminated without any sacrifice of car strength.

While the structures shown have been described more or less in detail, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the structures but all such changes are contemplated as fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A monitor type car having upper and lower carlines, plate means attached to said lower carlines and forming a clerestory, said plate means also forming a part of the exposed portion of the car roof and a support for the upper carline.

2. A monitor type car formed in part by upper and lower carlines, externally arranged plate means secured to said lower carlines to form a clerestory, said plate means enveloping a portion of the lower carlines and having an inner extended portion forming a support for said upper carlines, said support also serving as a support for a clerestory lining.

3. A monitor type car formed in part by upper and lower carlines, externally arranged plate means secured to said lower carlines to form a clerestory, said plate means enveloping a portion of the lower carlines and having an inner extended portion forming a supporting element for said upper carlines, Said Supporting element also serving as a support for a clerestory lining as well as for ceiling lining and molding.

4. An improved roof member for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising, a plate formed with a vertically extending clerestory portion, an outwardly directed lower deck portion, and an inwardly directed upper portion having a part thereof formed to underlie and support roof carlines.

5. An improved roof member for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising, a plate formed with a vertically extending clerestory portion, an outwardly directed lower deck portion, an inwardly directed upper deck portion and a downwardly directed portion spaced from but substan tially parallel to said clerestory portion.

6. An improved roof member for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising, a plate formed with a vertically extending clerestory portion, an outwardly directed lower deck portion, an inwardly directed upper deck portion, a downwardly directed portion spaced from but substantially parallel to said clerestory portion and a laterally directed upper carline supporting portion.

'7. An improved roof member' for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising a plate formed with a substantially channel section upper portion, the outer side of which is extended to form the clerestory.

8. An improved roof member for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising a plate formed with a substantially channel-shaped upper portion, one side of which is extended to form the clerestory and having its lower edge directed outwardly to constitute an attaching and supporting portion for the lower deck.

9. An improved roof member for monitor type cars having upper and lower decks joined by a clerestory and comprising a plate formed with a substantially channel-shaped upper portion, one side of which is extended to form the clerestory and having its edge portions directed outwardly and inwardly respectively to constitute attaching and supporting means for roof elements.

10. In a monitor type car, upper carlines, lower carlines having portions thereof directed upwardly, and plate means forming a clerestory, said plate means comprising a unitary member secured to the lower carlines and lapping the upwardly directed portions thereof, the upper portion of said plate means being inwardly flanged to constitute a supporting and attaching element for the upper carlines.

11. In a monitor deck type car, upper carlines, lower carlines having upwardly directed portions, and plate means forming a clerestory, said plate means comprising a unitary member secured to the lower carlines and having its upper end portion formed to cap the upwardly directed portions of the lower carlines, and said upper end portion of said plate means being formed to provide a support for the carlines.

12. Inl a monitor type car, upper carlines, lower carlines having portions thereof directed upwardly, and a unitary member forming a clerestory, said unitary member comprising plate means having a flanged lower edge portion, the upper portion of said plate means being formed to channel shape into which the upper end portions of the lower carlines extend, the free edge portion of said channel-shaped portion of said plate means being iianged in a direction opposite to that of the ange of the lower edge portion of said plate means whereby to provide a supporting and attaching element for the upper carlines.

13. A clerestory member for car roofs comprising a unitary plate means having a anged lower edge portion, the upper portion of said plate being channel shaped and having its free edge portion flanged in a direction oppositel that of the iirst named flange.

14. In a monitor type car, upper carlines, lower carlines having portions thereof directed upwardly, and plate means forming a clerestory, said plate means comprising a unitary structure secured to the lower carlines and lapping the upwardly directed portions thereof, the upper por. tion of said plate means being inwardly flanged to underlie and support the upper carlines.

JOHN B. D. THOMPSON. 

